TKO Software

GunForge [Nokia N-Gage – Cancelled]

GunForge is a cancelled run ‘n gun that was in development in 2005 by TKO Software for the ill-fated Nokia N-Gage. As far as we know the game was never officially announced by the company and was soon cancelled when TKO Software was closed down by their parent company. A few GunForge sprite animations created by a former TKO employee are preserved below, to remember the existence of this lost project.

TKO were also working on another canned N-Gage game titled “Leisure Suit Larry – Pocket Party”, but part of the team later formed Method Solutions, who were able to release Call of Duty and Space Impact for Nokia’s console / cellphone hybrid. 

Heaven vs. Hell (TKO Software) [PC – Cancelled]

Heaven VS Hell is a cancelled RTS that was in development by TKO Software around 2004 – 2005, planned to be released on PC in 2006. It was set in a dystopian future in which God wants to punish mankind and reset the world, but Satan wants some fun too. You would choose between one of the 3 factions (God’s army, Satan’s arm, human army) to play in many strategy-focused missions, following each side of the storyline.

The game was previewed by many websites at the time, such as IGN and Gamepressure:

“In Heaven vs. Hell, mankind in the 25th Century has grown arrogant with technology, manipulating natural order enough to finally get the Big Guy’s attention. God unleashes wrathful vengeance, hoping to cleanse Earth and start again.”

“God gets a little miffed about humanity’s meddling in his design so he decides to reboot the whole system and start from scratch. Rather than dooming all of humanity in the process, God decides to let them wait out the reset period in heaven. The devil considers this a breach of the rules and decides to launch an attack on heaven. There are three campaigns, one for each faction and plenty of multiplayer options. “

“In total, it should take about sixty hours to complete the crossing. It is obvious that each side of the conflict is diametrically different, and its aspirations are different in relation to wild people (called “primates”), who in Heaven vs. Hell play the role of one of the three raw materials (the other two are sulphur and farms). The forces of hell want to incarnate them into the legions of the condemned, the armies of heaven try to save them, and the people want to understand them and use them as slaves.

Just like in the classic RTS, here too, we are building bases that are the centre of our missionary forces. As in the Warcraft and Kohan series, for example, the construction of certain buildings affects the area around them. Therefore, the hell bases are accompanied by burnt and destroyed earth, and the angelic ones by truly paradise views.”

Up to 2,000 units can be seen on the screen during the skirmishes, including giant flying demons, succubus, hell worms, angelic archers and proud cavalry in shining armour, as well as special and exceptionally strong heroes such as the Archangel Gabriel or the Messiah.”

Unfortunately in 2005 TKO Software was closed down by their parent company, leading to the cancellation of Heaven VS Hell and 60 developers losing their job.

Thanks to Jackgrimm99 for the contribution!

Images:

Videos:

 

Leisure Suit Larry: Pocket Party [N-Gage – Cancelled]

Leisure Suit Larry: Pocket Party is a cancelled point and click adventure that was in development in 2004 by  TKO Software and it would have been published by Vivendi Universal for the ill-fated N-gage. The game was going to be the first original mobile title in the Leisure Suit Larry series, but it was never finished, probably because of the failure of the Nokia console / phone.

As we can read in Wikipedia, in Leisure Suit Larry: Pocket Party, players would have been able to explore a college campus, while solving puzzles and engaging in risque activities. As they search for the ultimate good time (having sex), gamers bump into Rosie Palmer, the head cheerleader at Larry’s college and he is determined to do anything to be with her.

In addition to single-player gameplay, there were four different turn-based multiplayer mini-games. The game was supposed to be a big title for the N-Gage due to its raunchy language and humor, and also for the cell-shaded graphic, a brand new feature for the N-Gage.

It seems that Leisure Suit Larry N-Gage was developed twice: there are two completely full versions of the game. One that was deemed too raunchy and another that was redesigned by TKO-Dallas from the ground up. So to recap….there are TWO full, complete working versions of Pocket Party in Alpha form.

Thanks to ForWhomTheBellTolls for the contribution!

Images:

  

Ms. Pacman: Maze Madness 2 [XBOX/PS2/GC – Cancelled]

In 2005 TKO Software were working on a sequel to Ms. Pacman: Maze Madness, a platform game that was originally released for the Nintendo 64, Playstation and Dreamcast. Ms. Pacman: Maze Madness 2 was going to be published for the Xbox, Playstation 2 and GameCube, but the project was cancelled in mid development because of saturated market for the genre.

Thanks to Hey Hey for the contribution!

Video: